Page 14 - Export and Trade

Case study: STUN you “how excited they are” about an opportunity being
Adam Blackwell and wife Millie are currently based out of discussed or how they “can’t wait for the next step in the
San Francisco, marketing digital sales toolkits to the US process”.
market. Founded in 2011, STUN has grown 300 percent “That may be a signal you are done and gone.”
year on year. It has staff in Wellington, Australia, the Blackwell’s advice is to double or triple your budget both
US and Europe and clients range from start-ups to large ways. “You will need three times as much money as you
corporates. think you will need and you’ll earn a third of your expected
In the process of breaking into the US market Blackwell revenue in year one.
VD\V WKH\ KDYH HQFRXQWHUHG WZR PDMRU KXUGOHV ± WKH ¿UVW “Set yourself an annual plan and then actually call it
being bureaucracy. your quarterly plan. Without that kind of pressure, you will
“The US is incredibly complex compared to getting achieve very little,” he says. “But if you actually achieve
things done in New Zealand. Be prepared for a lot of your quarterly targets in six months, you’ll be stoked!”
paperwork, procurement processes and a strong slow- Blackwell believes a full three months should be
down in the pace of business compared to New Zealand. dedicated to your market approach.
“Prepare for that by hiring a local lawyer and accountant
as fast as you can. Don’t try and use Kiwis to do this – His four-step plan is:
they will just defer to a US expert." 1. Put a US expansion plan together with a lot of detail
The second issue is positive feedback that can actually around how you will grow the company and provide jobs
be negative feedback, he says. IRU ORFDO 86 FLWL]HQV %H VSHFL¿F
“Kiwis tend to be straight up. Americans don’t want 2. Hire a US immigration lawyer and start the process for
to disappoint you or hurt your feelings. So they’ll tell a long-stay visa. You will need $10,000 and two months

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